Trump to pause migration from ‘third-world countries’

Published: 28 November 2025 Friday. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he will “permanently pause migration” from all so-called “third-world countries” to allow the US immigration system to “fully recover” from policies that he claims have eroded the “gains and living conditions” of Americans. He did not provide specific details on the plan or which countries might be affected.

Trump’s announcement comes a day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington DC, killing one. Following the attack, the US suspended processing all Afghan immigration requests and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would re-examine green cards issued to individuals from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela.

In a two-part post, Trump pledged to “end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens” and blamed refugees for causing “social dysfunction” in America. He vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the country and cited Minnesota as an example of states overwhelmed by incoming refugees.

Trump’s latest stance builds on previous travel bans enacted during his current and prior terms, targeting Afghanistan and several majority-Muslim nations. The flurry of announcements underscores his increasingly hardline position on immigration, framed as a national security measure following the Washington DC shooting.

Officials continue to investigate the shooting, describing it as an “act of terror,” and the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who arrived in the US in 2021 under an Afghan special immigration program, has been arrested. Meanwhile, authorities continue to assess implications of Trump’s proposed pause and re-examination of foreign nationals’ immigration status.